May 2013
The Power of Video Connection
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. So then what’s a video worth? We are really excited about our new partnership with NoahIQ whereby our customer institutions will be able to connect in real-time with prospects and students via live video, as well as audio or text. ... » Read More
Admissions Insights
With challenges to increase enrollments, institutions continue to improve and streamline their admissions processes. In this guest blog post, I’ve asked Martin Lind at Leads360 to share the dynamics and differences he sees between traditional and private sector schools’ admissions departments. Traditional schools and private sector schools: Two very ... » Read More
March 2013
Career Education Review Features Datamark’s Collaborative Research
For some prospective students it simply takes time to make the decision to apply and enroll, and for others, a little bit of nurturing can go a long way. We teamed up with our colleagues, Martin Lind at Leads360 and Chris McArdle at Neustar, to dissect the extent to ... » Read More
February 2013
What Do We Have to Look Forward to in 2013? Part IV: Marketing and Mobile
As I wrap up this blog series on trends and predictions that will impact us as marketers, I’d like to close with my thoughts on Marketing and Mobile. Let’s face it, mobile is everywhere. I came across an article on Mobile Marketer that I thought was interesting, Top 10 ... » Read More
January 2013
What Do We Have to Look Forward to in 2013? Part III: Marketing and Data Analytics
Here we go with the third installment of this series – in case you missed my first two posts, I encourage you to check out trends on Marketing and the Customer Experience and Marketing and Branding. Today’s prediction comes from Ovum’s 2013 Trends to Watch: Education Technology and focuses ... » Read More
What Do We Have to Look Forward to in 2013? Part II: Marketing and Branding
As we continue to look at the predictions circulating for 2013, I’d like to take this opportunity to talk about marketing and branding. By the way, if you missed my first post in this series about Marketing and the Customer Experience, you can access it here. So let’s dive ... » Read More
What Do We Have to Look Forward to in 2013? Part I: Marketing and the Customer Experience
Now that the first month of the New Year is coming to an end, I thought it would be interesting to write a series of blogs that highlight some of the predictions being thrown around out there, and take a look at what those predictions mean for those in ... » Read More
December 2012
When is a Past Inquiry Still Worth Pursuing?
Just because a prospective student doesn’t begin to move forward through the enrollment process at first, doesn’t mean that individual won’t at some point. So, how do you continue to nurture that prospect to get to that point? We recently teamed up with our colleagues at Leads360 and Neustar® ... » Read More
November 2012
Part Three of Three: Top Three Happenings from the World of CPL and Traditional Media that May Impact Your Business
In this final part of our three-part CPL and traditional media series, we outline the importance of video. Videos are coming on the scene and are being used extensively during the evaluation process. Recent Google video usage studies suggest that there has been a significant uptick in use of ... » Read More
Part Two of Three: Top Three Happenings from the World of CPL and Traditional Media that May Impact Your Business
Part Two of Three: Mobile device marketing In this second part of our three-part CPL and traditional media series, we focus on emerging trend of marketing being optimized for mobile devices. Education seekers have adopted a 3-screen approach: 44% use a cellular and / or tablet device in their ... » Read More
Top Three Happenings from the World of CPL and Traditional Media that May Impact Your Business
Part one of Three: Response integration and attribution Staying on top of the trends and happenings with regards to CPL and media is a key priority for us at Datamark. We’ve compiled a three-part series that feature observations which may be key to your future marketing plans as you ... » Read More
June 2012
Do You Know What Motivates Prospective Students to Enroll?
Let’s face it, the more you know about your prospective students’ thought process during the enrollment process, the more likely you are to engage them at each step along the way, from the initial idea to further their education, through research, selection, application and enrollment. Ask yourself, why do ... » Read More
March 2012
EduPortal Trends Heard Far and Loud at LeadsCon
Having returned recently from LeadsCon, I can’t help but think back on the conversations our media team had with education marketers and how their challenges and opportunities translate into trends that we believe will impact the sector in the months and years ahead. Based on what we heard, here ... » Read More
February 2012
Don’t Trust Growth to Guesswork
There’s no question about it, the resources and costs that are both necessary and at stake in new program development are high. And let’s face it, guessing which programs will be successful is far from a sound approach. It really comes down to research. Our very own Joel Borgmeier ... » Read More
January 2012
New Year and New Outlook on CPL and EDU Portals: Media Days Take-Away #2
As we come to the next part in our series on the changing landscape of CPL and EDU Portals, let’s talk about our second key finding from the group of CPL vendors who participated in our Media Days event. Insight #2: As predicted, there has been a significant sorting ... » Read More
New Year and New Outlook on CPL and EDU Portals: Media Days Take-Away #1
As we go into a new year, can we expect a new outlook on Cost Per Lead and EDU Portals, or simply more of the same? At Datamark we recently held our 4th Semi-Annual Winter Media Days event where we brought together 8 of our top CPL partners to ... » Read More
October 2011
APSCU Misrepresentation Guidance: Datamark’s View
On October 11, APSCU published guidance for its membership on “The Misrepresentation Rule and Third-Party Vendors.” We congratulate APSCU on the publication of this very comprehensive treatment of a very complex topic, particularly its holistic review of the federal and state regulatory issues beyond “Substantial Misrepresentation” that education marketers ... » Read More
September 2011
LeadsCon Recap: What is the Education CPL Community Talking About?
I’d intended to pass along what we saw at LeadsCon East a few weeks back, and have finally had the chance to put “pen” to “paper.” LeadsCon has developed into one of the top places to network with the education CPL community. Congratulations to Dave Wengel and Jay Weintraub ... » Read More
March 2011
Headlines from LeadsCon
The annual LeadsCon event hit Las Vegas recently and turned out an insightful crowd of people. I joined several of my Datamark colleagues for the event, and it again proved to be a productive opportunity to meet with clients and leaders in internet lead generation to discuss trends, innovation and ... » Read More
January 2011
Looking Ahead to Lead Volume, Cost and Quality
As we look to the future of the lead generation environment, we need to take into consideration both economic and regulatory drivers. To what extent will these factors, along with new technology, influence lead volume, lead cost and lead quality in the months and years to come? We recently ... » Read More
Are Your Students Using Social Media?
The answer is yes – social media is everywhere these days. Take a look at the statistics KISSmetrics is reporting: 96% of 18-35 year olds are on a social network. 1 in 5 Americans age 18-35 use @twitter. Twitter is adding 300,000 users a day and 80% of Twitter ... » Read More
December 2010
2010 News & Headlines: Did You Know?
As we wrap up 2010, colleague Steve Winchester and I took a look back at the top headlines and news that sparked discussion here at Datamark over the last 12 months. Enjoy! Student Learning: Measure or Perish (The Chronicle of Higher Education) The Chronicle’s reporters wrote a series of ... » Read More
The Changing Marketing and Enrollment Landscape
I recently had the opportunity to interview with Keith Hampson, a well-known education consultant, speaker and founder of the Higher Education Management group on LinkedIn. Keith and I talked about the changing marketing and enrollment landscape, and the things that colleges and universities should be doing to adapt their ... » Read More
November 2010
Why Does Lead Quality Matter, and Why Now More Than Ever?
The enrollment marketing and admissions landscape continues to change with new technological advances and ways to communicate. However, neither can enhance the enrollment process if the lead quality to begin with isn’t up to par. As a participant on a recent panel, “Why Lead Quality Matters Now More Than ... » Read More
California Schools Talk Marketing Strategies in a Rebounding Economy
Datamark joined Joseph Holt, Vice President of Marketing at San Joaquin Valley College (SJVC), in a presentation at the California Association of Private Postsecondary Schools (CAPPS) 26th Annual Conference. The topic was post-recession marketing strategies. SJVC is definitely at the forefront when it comes to understanding the enrollment landscape and ... » Read More
October 2010
Trend to Watch: The Power of the Online Degree
In the early years of eLearning, many questioned not only the academic rigor and quality of an online degree, but also its place in corporate America. Would online graduates enter the job market with the same skill set as someone who earned his/her degree in a traditional bricks and ... » Read More
Higher Education Marketing, Meet Higher Standards
The decision to start or go back to school is not one that a student enters into lightly – it involves significant timing, lifestyle and financial considerations. It is therefore imperative that we as marketers take these factors into account and keep student needs and goals top of mind ... » Read More
September 2010
Trend to Watch: DIY-U Start-Ups
Bill Gates recently said, “Five years from now on the web for free you’ll be able to find the best lectures in the world” and online education “will be better than any single university.” Over the past several months we have been monitoring the EduPunk and DIY-U start-ups. Unlike ... » Read More
Economic Recovery Brings Challenges to Education Marketers
Since 1990, the United States has experienced three major recessions, and during each of these tumultuous periods, higher education marketers have found a unique silver lining – student inquiries have sprouted easily and school enrollments have grown. As economic recovery has turned the corner and unemployed prospects have found ... » Read More
Trusted Voices in a Changing Environment
The winds of change are sweeping through the environment for education marketing. Metric and database analytics have brought new levels of efficiency and sophistication to the practice. For–profit and not-for-profit universities now compete for the same students. And, with new communication channels available and an uncertain regulatory future looming ... » Read More